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Accountant Busted Boarding Plane At Newark Airport Admits Stealing $3.5M From Clients: Feds

A Massachusetts money manager who police arrested last month at Newark International Airport trying to escape prosecution admitted to stealing $3.5 million from his clients, including the entire life savings of an elderly couple, federal authorities said. 

John W. McCormack Post Office and Court House in Boston.

John W. McCormack Post Office and Court House in Boston.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Steven Xigoros, 55, pleaded guilty in a Boston court this week to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of filing a false tax return, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. 

Xigoros worked as an accountant, tax preparer, and investment advisor who federal investigators said used that position to misappropriate millions of dollars from his clients. He did so by promising to invest their cash into securities and business ventures, but instead, he paid off his gambling debts and personal expenses, the prosecutor said. 

Xigoros gave his clients bogus earnings projections and fuzzy timelines on when he would repay them, authorities said. He bilked millions from his clients — $1.3 million of that was an elderly couple's entire life's savings, federal prosecutors said. 

A judge will sentence Xigoros in February. He faces up to 25 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

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